Have you ever measured the width of those numbers painted on the metal bench seats at the Mid-State fairgrounds? I’m not sure what the average width of the American posterior is right now, but I can assure you it exceeds the space provided for in those grandstand seats.

I think fair officials, wanting to squeeze more of us into a smaller space, figure that “on average” a certain number of adult butts will fit on 40 feet of seating. Frankly, you can’t even let your arms hang at your side. The arms on the Poly complex chairs have shrunk as well. And from what I’ve observed, the American bottom is widening, not getting narrower.

I get the same feeling of being squeezed out when I try to park in the Atascadero Rite Aid/Starbucks facility. The city ordered that all the parking spaces there be compact-sized. Driving my wife’s SUV through that parking lot is a challenge. The lot barely accommodates my small pickup truck. I think it is the old “slice the baloney a little thinner” mentality working on us.

I know there are more of us in any given space here, in Los Angeles, in New York and in the world. That is an issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

I know it sounds melodramatic, but I need my space. I need it when parking my car and when I’m trying to enjoy a concert somewhere.

I hope there’s room for these thoughts in today’s paper. Oh well, I know they’ll squeeze it in.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for unlimited digital access to our website, apps, the digital newspaper and more.